


This Changes Everything

by BatmanWhoLaughss, HunterByDayWhovianByNight



Series: Adventures in Force-Sensitive Parenting [1]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, The Mandalorian (TV)
Genre: Adventures in Parenting, Father-Son Relationship, Fatherhood, Gen, Introspection, One Shot Collection, Parenthood, adventures in single fatherhood, baby yoda cuteness, change our minds, mando is a space dad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-04
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-02-25 21:15:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 8,279
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21672091
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BatmanWhoLaughss/pseuds/BatmanWhoLaughss, https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterByDayWhovianByNight/pseuds/HunterByDayWhovianByNight
Summary: A collection of ruminations on Mando's life as a space dad
Relationships: The Mandalorian & Baby Yoda (The Mandalorian TV)
Series: Adventures in Force-Sensitive Parenting [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1992697
Comments: 64
Kudos: 659





	1. Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> Baby Yoda is ruining our lives and we can't take it so we wrote about Mando's adventures in parenting.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Set post ep 3, right after THAT SCENE.

The Mandalorian glanced down at the child, which was currently sitting on the floor of the tiny cockpit and staring at the little silver ball like it was the most interesting thing in the universe. His eyes subtly scanned it’s small body for injuries. _It’s a miracle it made it out of that gunfight unscathed._ Then again, he’s seen the child perform a miracle before.

  
The green baby glanced up at him with those big eyes, still holding the little silver ball, and the Mandalorian briefly wondered where to go from here.

  
He broke the code. Betrayed the guild and everyone in it. Risked his neck and the necks of the entire tribe for this inexplicable child who could lift beasts a hundred times its size and was being hunted by half the quadrant. _Was it really worth it? Can i really keep this little guy safe? And what the hell am I going to do with it?_

  
He looked out at the stars as if they held the answers and cursed softly. Somehow, he just couldn’t walk away. He remembered the anxious squeal of the child as the Imperial officer wheeled it away and his grip tightened on the controls. It was just a baby. An innocent, hunted down by enemies with ruthless precision.

  
...The Mandalorian had a bit too much experience with that feeling.

  
He heard an excited coo from behind him and turned. The child glanced up from the floor again, though somehow now surrounded by a gear, a rod that looked suspiciously like it used to be part of a lever somewhere, and the little silver ball. It gestured towards the pile of objects it acquired with a smile blooming across its face and another happy little sound. The Mandalorian sighed, though try as he might, he couldn’t be angry at the little green being.

  
He briefly wondered what parts of the ship the child had co-opted for it’s new toys, but the thought was shoved to the back of his mind as he watched it play. He still didn’t remotely know how he was going to take care of his new companion ( _what does his species eat, anyway?_ ), but he felt a surge of affection for it. It didn’t ask for whatever powers made it valuable. It deserves to grow up free of the Empire’s clutches and all of their experiments. It deserves to be safe. That was something the Mandalorian could provide.

  
His thoughts strayed again to the bodies he left behind when they made their getaway, and his brothers and sisters risking their safety to fight alongside him.

  
Suddenly, the Mandalorian felt something collide with the back of his head, and glanced back to see the child’s playthings spinning around in a circle above it’s head. The little silver ball had landed on the floor by his feet. He rubbed his helmet and chuckled, feeling a fond smile creep onto his face under the Beskar. “Good aim,” he laughed. Any thoughts of turning back faded away as the child fixed him with those big happy eyes.

  
This was worth it. This was worth everything.


	2. I'll Make A Million Mistakes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all!!! This is the other author, Hunter! This turned out to be way more angsty than intended but enjoy nonetheless

The Mandalorian set his ship on autopilot and stood up to go down the ladder and to his bunk before turning on his heels. He looked down through his visor and saw the sleeping child in his copilot seat, nestled in his blanket. He considered leaving the child there since he seemed restful and unbothered as much, but then subtle panic set in as he remembered last night, when he had dozed off and woke with a start to the loud wails of the child. It had taken several minutes to try and discern what was wrong with it, and he spent the whole night awake caring for it.

  
_What if he falls and hurts himself? What if he needs to be held? What if he cries and I’m not there in time?_

  
He leaned over the seat and readjusted the worn blankets and swaddling around the child. Even through his gloves, he could feel the heat of its little body and the smooth tempo of his even smaller heart. He smiled to himself as he considered the small life there, under his hand. It really was a very sweet child; he had the biggest, sweetest black eyes and green ears that made you want to stare into his little face forever. The Mandalorian remembered feeling the unfamiliar pangs of love and of the desire to protect the moment he locked eyes with the child; it was then, when they touched fingertips and the child grasped his little fist around his gloved and armored pointer finger, that he knew he couldn’t kill this child or let him be killed.

  
It’s why he didn’t have the heart to leave it there with the client and his nefarious doctor, if that was even a proper title to give him. Why he held it close to his chest as he shot out the building and left the planet, the system. Why he used the whistling birds, his most valuable weapon.

  
The Mandalorian made the executive decision to take the child downstairs with him to sleep for a few hours until they landed at his safehouse. As carefully as possible, he crept his hands under the child’s sleeping body and picked him up, ignoring the fussy little sounds coming from the child. Quietly, he shushed the child and held his head close to his armored chest and swayed slowly in place like he’d seen some mothers do with their own babies. It never occurred to him before, but… if he really was going to be the protector of this child, he would technically be his father. The memory of his own father shutting him into that cellar sprung into the Mandalorian’s mind at the emergence of the _father_ word; he didn’t dare muse on it any further.

  
The child’s heart continued to beat at a slow, resting pace, but each heartbeat rocked the carbon of the Mandalorian’s armor like it was a quake. Carefully, he climbed down the steps of the ship, trying not to rock the child’s body too forcefully for fear he’d wake him up. Thankfully, he completed the journey with only mild fussy noises and whines. The Mandalorian sat in his bunk, the hard mattress only barely giving under the weight of him and his armor; gingerly, he laid the child down beside him and settled in for a night of keeping watch. He could sleep later, if at all.

  
The child kept sleeping soundly beside him, barely shifting, looking peaceful as he huddled under his robes. The tips of his ears twitched in his sleep, and the Mandalorian couldn’t help but feel his heart twist as he remembered handing over the child for the beskar. What could make a child, one who couldn’t even talk, a threat? Why would it have a bounty? The Mandalorian could only suspect that maybe it had unfortunate parentage, or maybe was the product of a scientific experiment cooked up by the Empire. He wouldn’t put anything past the Empire these days; they had proven themselves generations ago to be untrustworthy, corrupt. And as he watched the child sleep undisturbed and peaceful, he felt anger rise up in his chest at the thought of someone hurting him. And then the guilt settled in as the Mandalorian realized that he would have to give up the child to keep him safe, because he knew that this life was dangerous. And he wanted to keep the child safe. Really, truly safe.

  
That would be a decision to make another time. He had to watch over him as he slept now.


	3. Nobody Fucks With My Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cara Dune and Baby Yoda get acquainted. Mando is protective.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y"ALL THAT NEW EPISODE HOLY CRAP. MY EMOTIONS. Working on all the fics at the moment, but in the meantime, enjoy this headcanon I came up with last night at 2 in the morning. We've been loving all your comments/kudos, so keep those coming!! - BatmanWhoLaughss

Cara sat outside the tavern in the small village, watching the sunset and sipping a glass of icy spotchka. It had been a week since Mando had suggested taking on the raiders, and she still wasn’t 100% on board. They were going up against an _AT-ST. A goddamn AT-ST_. She hadn’t seen one of those in a long time. She thought she would never have to see one again. _The Empire’s in ruins, and it’s still making my life hell_ , she mused.

Still, she had to admit, it wasn’t as bad as she thought. Sure, she never expected to have to play drill sergeant for farmers, but they weren’t as hopeless as she expected. They were a motivated bunch, and relatively quick learners, even if they occasionally forgot which way to hold a blaster. More and more these days, she wound up thinking about life in the Rebellion, and even with all her claims about early retirement, about how she secretly missed the thrill of a blaster in her hand, dodging cannon fire and taking down stormtroopers. For all her claims about an early retirement, knocking the Mandalorian around and teaching simple villagers to shoot was the best she’s felt since touching down on this godforsaken rock.

Then there was the Mandalorian himself. He was a hard one to read, but then again that was expected when you’re staring at steel instead of a face all day. Once or twice she briefly wondered if he was a droid, but dismissed the thought once she saw how much he hated droids. He kept everyone at arm’s length, hiding behind Beskar and having as little social contact as possible. The one thing he seemed to genuinely care about was the mysterious green baby he brought with him. She caught him tensing up on the handle of his blaster whenever the villagers got just a little too close to it. He seemed to linger wherever it played, watching from the sidelines with stiff shoulders and a direct line to the child if he needed to intervene.

_Curious, this pair._

As if on cue, she felt a small tug on her pant leg, followed by a giggle. Glancing down, she saw the tiny green one in question standing below her, staring up at her with it’s giant brown eyes. It raised its arms above its head, making excited little noises and toddling around by her right foot.

“Hey little guy,” she laughed. “What’re you doing over here all by yourself?” She wasn’t the best when it came to kids, but she had to admit she’d been enjoying watching the child waddle about the past couple weeks. It seemed to radiate pure joy in a way she wasn’t quite used to yet.

The child was still cooing excitedly at her. Its arms stretched over its head, it seemed to be trying to jump up towards her. _Could it… did it really…?_

“Do you…. want to come up?” She felt a but silly asking. Slowly, she reached down to the floor, picking up the baby as if it were the most fragile thing in the universe, and hesitantly seating it on her lap. She relaxed the involuntary tension in her shoulders when it didn’t immediately start squirming. The baby stared up at her with it’s huge eyes, and a content smile on its face. She couldn’t help but smile back. She bounced the child on her knee, smile growing as she heard it laugh again.

She heard the heavy footfalls before she saw him. Soldier instincts kicking in, she had her blaster halfway out of its holster before she saw Mando running at a full sprint towards the tavern. He skidded to a stop in front of her, blaster drawn and panting heavy breaths. “What…?” He trailed off, disorientated, but panic and anger radiated from him in waves.

“Easy tiger,” Cara said, keeping a trained eye on the blaster. “He’s safe. Just me.” He stopped, taking in the scene in front of him seemingly for the first time. Cara with the child on her knee, safe and sound. Happy to see him too, by the noises he was making.

“I… he… I didn’t…” He stopped. “He wandered off,” he said, steadying his voice. “He wandered off and I didn’t know… couldn’t find him.” Mando was still tense, with that sense of blind panic that comes with any parent’s fear of losing their child, but he lowered the blaster, pocketing it and straightening up. Cara could tell he was starting to relax; his breathing was calmer, less erratic, and his fists slowly began to unclench.

“He’s fine. Think he wanted some spotchka,” she said jokingly, cocking her head towards the mug resting on the table next to her.

Mando laughed, but it was a humorless one. “Come on you little womp rat, let’s get back home.” Cara handed him the child, whose smile seemed to get bigger once Mando was holding him. Mando’s voice seemed lighter too, as if holding the baby took some of the tough guy exterior away. Something was still eating at her though.

“Hey, Mando?” He turned back to her, the Beskar a stone cold mask against his emotions. “What are you so afraid of? Not like anyone’s going to find you here.”

As he turned away from her again, she heard him sigh. “I... I have to keep him safe. That’s my job. He’s all I have now.” He walked briskly away then, and Cara turned back to her drink. It was dark by now, so the blue liquid glowed beautifully in the moonlight.

She wondered if she’d ever find out what was so special about this child that Mando protected so zealously. _Has to be damn important though, to rope in a man like that._


	4. When You Smile You Knock Me Out (I Fall Apart)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post-the child nearly getting shot, but lots of fluff + paternal love because I am nothing if not a sucker for Good Dad Mando
> 
> ~Hunter

Mando, at present, was sitting in the barn Omera lent to him and the child and holding the little one in his arms, rocking him back and forth. The child’s heart was still racing and he was sniffling silently against Mando’s beskar. In his head, he cursed himself for not watching the child with his full attention, for letting himself get distracted by Omera; he didn’t blame her, he felt a tension between them long before this happened, but he rather blamed himself. 

Nothing he was doing was keeping the child safe, not even leaving him on this quiet, little planet with a loving community and a doting surrogate mother. Even when  _ he  _ was around, it still wasn’t enough. How foolish he felt, for letting his heart get the better of him. How incredibly inattentive a caretaker he was. He was certain that Cara and Omera and the whole village were scolding him behind his back for not being able to keep the child safe. The best Mando could do right now was play damage control and comfort the child as he recovered from the panic that resulted after the other bounty hunter attempted to shoot him. 

“I’m sorry,” Mando cooed into the child’s big ears. “I wasn’t there this time, but I’ll be there next time. I’ll never leave you like that again.”

The child said nothing, as usual, but gave him a muffled little gurgle. Of course, the child didn’t know the extent of what had taken place only half an hour before, but Mando had a feeling the child appreciated his declaration nonetheless. The child always seemed to calm him down rather than the other way around. 

_ Maybe those healing powers extend to the mind,  _ Mando mused as he began to gently bounce the child in his mind. 

“I almost lost you.”

The words came out faster than Mando could think them. He scarcely realized he said them, but the burning of his nose and eyes added a weight to his heart. He had never thought about, or cared so much about someone else before. This child had become his everything and his life in the matter of only a few weeks. 

“I can’t believe I nearly lost you,” Mando said. The tears flowed quickly underneath the beskar helmet and he was glad that they couldn’t be seen. Mando cradled the child’s head and held him more closely to his chest. He was weeping now, aloud and messily as he tightened his hold on the child and thought about the possibility of losing this little life that had become so important to him. He felt an obligation to protect the child and never let it out of his sight for long again. His absence today in the moment the child was almost taken from him served as a reminder for why exactly he should never be away from this child again.

In a mess, in a moment so vulnerable he felt like a sitting bird, open and exposed to attack, Mando said, “I love you,” to the child. He felt pressing against his helmet and pulled away to see that the child was trying to get his attention. The little womp rat, sweet as he was, grinned up at him and happily twitched the tips of his ears. Mando smiled at the sight of his happy, content child through the visor of his helmet and then felt his heart crunch. His child reached forward with his little, three-fingered hand, and brought him closer to his face to close the distance; he only had to reach a few inches further to place a sweet hand over the sightline of Mando’s visor.

It made Mando smile even wider than he thought possible. He could not remember the last time he had done so.


	5. I Swear I'll Keep You Safe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Post episode 5. Mando reflects.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow this is heinously late and I had hella writer's block while writing this, so I don't know how well it came out. But enjoy nonetheless as I finish suffering through finals! - Batman

Mando set the child down in his makeshift carseat, blind rage still coursing through his veins. Though the child’s eyes were still bright and happy, he felt the tiny heartbeat racing beneath the child’s swaddling clothes. He had half a mind to go put another round through that idiot bounty hunter’s chest for good measure.

As Mando turned to fire up the engines, he saw the child had already fallen asleep behind him, the day’s events finally taking a toll on its small frame. He sighed deeply. 

The child could have died today. Hell, he could have died 4 times over already in the time they’d been traveling together, but today hit home like nothing else. Seeing the blaster an inch from the baby’s head… What the hell was he thinking leaving it alone with the mechanic?  _ Stupid, stupid, stupid… _

He had to be sharper. A goddamn  _ kid _ got the drop on him, for god’s sake. What would happen when someone better, more experienced, came along?  _ Stupid.  _ He couldn’t protect the kid. He couldn’t protect anyone. 

And yet… who else did the kid have? THere was no one else. Sure, Cara Dune could take care of herself in a fight, but it wasn’t fair to dump that heap of trouble on her shoulders when she was trying to lay low. He still had no idea where the tribe had re-located to after the shootout with the guild, so leaving him there wasn’t an option either. Where could he bring the baby that trouble wouldn’t follow?

Plus, he saw the way the baby looked up at him. Like it was… genuinely happy to be around him, despite all the crap that Mando had put him through. The way he followed him around everywhere, the way his eyes lit up when he walked into a room… The child genuinely seemed to care for him for some reason. 

And as much as he hated to admit it, he had become embarrassingly fond of the baby as well. It was beyond a desire to keep it safe now. He was happier with the baby around, he was terrified when it wasn’t within view, and the image of the child with a blaster to it’s head was forever seared into his brain. 

He sighed again. “I’m sorry,” he said in a broken voice, watching the child sleep soundly. “I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise.” He pet the child’s head with a gloved hand, and as they reached the cold darkness of space, he felt the truth of it.  _ I’d die first. _


	6. There Is So Much More Inside Me Now

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Parental angst parental angst parental angst (or, Mando realized parenting is hard and choices are hard)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter from Hunter here! I’m looking forward to Episode XI, but I won’t be seeing it for another week, sadly. Stay tuned for more chapters from my writing partner!
> 
> ~Hunter

Mando glanced at the child, well, after all the things that have happened as of late, _his_ child, from his spot in the pilot’s seat. He was levitating his little handle-turned-plaything a few inches away from his face, gurgling and smiling as he played. Mando smiled at the sight of the youngling playing and amusing himself and felt the adoration for the little creature grow in his heart. He had never felt such a calling to be a parent before this, had never understood why couples wanted children so bad. Children were loud, fussy, expensive. They were dependent. And not just that, the galaxy was a rough place full of crime and corruption; there were only a few oases left in this rotten galaxy. And this life was no good for a youngling. 

But looking at his child’s little face, accented by his big ears, made him want to protect the young life even more. To rid the galaxy of anyone and anything who would dare hurt him. Caring for the youngling added dimension and humanity to his life; stars know his life was flat and relatively meaningless before taking up this child and going on the run. The care and keeping of this child was objectively more important than anything Mando had done before. 

His child must have felt watchful eyes on him, so he looked up at Mando through the visor of his helmet, teething on the spherical handle. Mando could not say that they locked eyes in that moment because the youngling had no way of telling where his eyes really were. The fleeting thought of removing his helmet so that the child could see who he really was and what he looked like passed through his head; a twinge of shame curled itself in Mando’s chest for even entertaining the idea of removing his helmet. Despite that, though, it pained him to not be able to connect with the child on that level, to let him look into his eyes and remember him just in case something dire should happen. Mando’s last memory of his parents were looking up at them, locking eyes with his mother and father, before they closed the cellar behind them; it was a bittersweet memory, but he was glad that he at least got to see their faces that one last time. 

Even though one could argue that Mando could technically take off his helmet now and live outside the way of the Mandalorians because he broke guild code, there was something holding him back. Something preventing him from doing what Cara and Omera suggested all those weeks ago and settling with his child. He knew he was withholding and hiding his feelings from the child; he knew that one day, he would have to make a choice: the way of the Mandalorian, or the child. 

Feeling the beginnings of tears sting his eyes, Mando turned away from the child and looked ahead of him, allowing the vast black expanse to fill his vision. He wished that it didn’t have to be so hard, but this was the reality of the situation. Either he protects this child and loses his honor, or maintains his (stupid) pride and loses his child. And slowly but surely, this child was becoming his whole world. His whole reason. His purpose. The thought of losing the only person he’d dedicated his life to killed him, but it would just as painful to reject the people who dedicated _their_ life towards raising him and protecting him. There were a lot of complicated emotions, many of them cyclical and self-destructive, Mando had about this topic. 

Mando refused to admit it with the voice inside his head, much less aloud, but he’d already made his choice when he turned his back on the guild and escaped with the child. Nothing would stop Mando from protecting him. 


	7. I knew you were trouble, but I don't care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mando decides to get a carseat for the baby

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!!! I've been super busy over the holidays, so haven't been writing much. But we FINALLY have a new chapter! Hope everyone's 2020 is off to a good start! Here's hoping I can stop procrastinating so much and write more. Enjoy! -BatmanWhoLaughss

A loud bang echoed through the ship, followed by a loud giggle. Mando sighed, somehow resisting the temptation to bang his head on the console in front of him. Picking up a baby wasn’t something he had factored into his plans, and it certainly hadn’t been easy.

He didn’t regret saving the child- not by a long shot. He had grown to care for the little one over the past couple weeks, and he certainly wasn’t about to subject it to torture and certain death at the hands of the Imperials. 

Another crash. Mando winced under the helmet before switching on the autopilot and exiting the cockpit of the  _ ‘Crest. _ He didn’t anticipate just how much damage such a little thing could do when left alone on a spaceship. A baby that could move objects with it’s mind was even worse.  _ What if he got to the weapons? _

Mando descended the ladder to find the child waddling around happily, boxes strewn on the floor around him, where before they had been neat and tidy. But thankfully, the weapons vault was still closed. 

The child looked up at him and smiled, offering him a small cog he hadn’t realized it was holding. Mando sighed again.

_ Was I this much trouble when I was a foundling? _

He suspected he probably was. He certainly remembered the children running around the cohort in the sewer as they played, and the adults struggling to corral them. He never expected that he’d be trying to wrangle a child of his own.

He stopped, as the child looked up at his with it’s big eyes.  _ Was _ it his own? Sure, it was under his protection for now, but was he really going to take care of this kid long term? His lifestyle was dangerous for a little one, even one with powers. Could he really do that to a baby? It deserved to be happy, carefree.

But with the Empire after it, that would never happen. So it seemed like the baby was stuck with him for the time being. 

The child raised it’s arms expectantly as he leaned down to pick it up. “C’mon you little rascal. Let’s get you back upstairs before you hurt yourself.”

As he took his seat in the cockpit, he set the child down by his feet before disengaging the autopilot. 

They flew steadily along for a while, the child cooing happily beneath him. Suddenly a shrill alarm alerted Mando to an approaching asteroid heading straight for them. It was coming in fast, and he had to swerve wildly to avoid it. He swore, readjusting course and trying to catch his breath, as he heard a small squeal from the child. It was lying on its back, a few inches behind Mando’s chair. 

He hurried over, picking the child up and checking it over for injuries. “That’s it,” Mando said, satisfied that it wasn’t hurt. “Let’s get you strapped in, huh? Space travel can be rough.” The child merely blinked at him, smiling. 

After rummaging around below deck, he found a rounded container that could function as a suitable seat for the kid. He didn’t remember how he came by it, but he was glad he hadn’t managed to get rid of it before now. He secured it to the leftmost cockpit chair and placed the child inside. “This should do fine. You like it?”

The child let out a happy noise. Mando smiled, making a note that it was too far for the baby to reach the ship’s controls- good. “C’mon. Maybe I’ll teach you to fly.”

As he settled back in, checking the navicomputer to find them a suitable planet to lay low, the sight of the child behind him, content and safe, gave him comfort.


	8. Domestic Life Was Never Quite My Style

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Domestic Mando + child fluff bitches!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! This chapter was neglected when I went home for the holidays, but better late than never! Please enjoy :)
> 
> ~Hunter

The Mandalorian seated the child atop his little bed, the screen door open so that he could keep an eye on the youngling as he prepared dinner for them. He warmed some broth from a thermos for the child, and set to work on making himself a pot of noodles. _Maybe he would like an egg with his soup as well,_ Mando considered as he looked in the fridger. He took one out of the container and glanced over his shoulder, showing it off to the child. 

“You want one?” Mando asked. The child made some happy noises and clapped his hands together, which Mando assumed meant yes. He smiled to himself and readied the pan, pouring a little oil and cracking the egg inside of it. 

It all felt very domestic, making food for more than one; Mando knew that he’d become softer since acquiring the youngling, and that the thoughts of early retirement were more frequent than ever. Six months ago, hell, one month ago, he would never have considered that cooking for someone else would feel so fulfilling. That it would make him feel so happy to see the baby eating an egg or slurping broth or gnawing on a jerky strip. He felt the eyes of the little one watching him cook and tend to the various pots and pans on the tiny, fold-out oven, and as he stirred the broth, he turned and watched as the child scrabble across the bed for his ball, falling onto his belly momentarily. It made him chuckle softly, too softly for the voicebox to pick it up and the child to hear. 

In a matter of a few minutes, Mando had collected and assembled the child’s dinner, but then came the hardest task: the actual feeding. It wasn’t that the child didn’t like to eat or that he was picky, it was that he hated being _forced_ to eat at a specific time. But Mando knew that he couldn’t very well let the child snack on crisps or jerky or nuts all day long and expect to stay healthy and grow; he had to have structured, planned meals. Mando pulled up a box so that he was more level with the bed and sat on it, placing the plate with the egg on the floor beside him and holding the bowl of broth in his hands. He exhaled, trying to collect himself and gather his wits before the inevitable little fit he knew the child would throw. Taking another deep breath, Mando held up a spoonful of broth to the child’s mouth, and nudged it gently against his closed mouth. 

“You have to eat, you know,” Mando said, trying to force the spoon into the child’s little mouth. The child resisted a little, begrudgingly opening his mouth for the broth. Mando sighed in relief; when the first bite went down, it was easier to get the child to finish. He spooned another helping and offered it to the child and blew the steam off of it, momentarily forgetting that with his helmet on, his breath couldn’t flow freely; remembering that made him groan in annoyance and embarrassment. Nonetheless, he was able to feed him the whole bowl with less trouble, eventually passing on the bowl so he could sip from it freely. 

In the few seconds that Mando turned away from the child to pick up the egg, the child flung the bowl against his helmet, taking him by surprise and making him nearly tumble out of his seat. Fighting back a swear, he righted himself up and wiped away a few stray droplets of broth from his visor and watched the child gleefully giggle, clearly satisfied with his momentary outburst. 

“Don’t do that! You could’ve taken me out,” Mando said, disapprovingly shaking his finger in the child’s face. The child appeared unfazed by Mando’s panic. Mando would never have stuck the child for something as trifling as throwing a bowl (even if it was at his head), and even if he had wanted to, the child’s big black eyes staring up at him would’ve softened him and forced him to put his hand away. 

“I forgive you,” Mando said, even though he knew the child didn’t fully comprehend what was going on. He didn’t want to be distant and harsh with the kid; he didn’t know any better. Mando shook his head in disbelief and offered the egg to the child on a small fork, which he munched upon happily. Mando chuckled to himself and continued to feed the child; this time, though, he did not allow the child to feed himself, just in case he decided to have another outburst and throw a fork. 

“Come here, womp rat,” Mando said, shimmying the child closer to the edge of the bed before picking him up and placing him in his lap. “You’ve still got some broth on you.”

With the sleeve of his flight suit, Mando wiped off the child’s mouth. The child looked up at him with big eyes and smiled, showing off his tiny teeth. He had only recently acquired them, and was using the little ball as a teething toy to help his gums. He tousled the child’s thin hair and scratched behind his ears, which the child has always seemed to enjoy the feeling of. His ears twitched happily and he gnawed on the sleeve of his robe. 

With the task of feeding the child complete, Mando figured he would attempt giving him a bath. He could eat his noodles later when he put the child down for bed. In the tiny ‘fresher, Mando turned on the shower and waited until the room was slightly steamy to undress the child and stick him under the spray of warm water. For good measure, Mando tossed the robe into the quick washer so that he’d have something clean to change the child into (plus, it would be warm and the child would fall asleep immediately). 

The child babbled and gurgled happily when he felt the water on his green skin; he plopped down on the floor of the shower and let the water wash over him. The thought that the child was from a water planet, or at least from a people who lived close to water, had passed Mando’s mind several times before this, but seeing how happy the child was in the shower always reminded him of that. Mando removed the armor off his hands and grabbed the soap and a washcloth; he lathered them up and set to work washing the child behind his big ears, his neck, and tiny arms and legs. The child seemed perfectly content to be scrubbed, laughing when Mando got the ticklish spot under his arms. 

With the second task of the night complete, Mando turned off the shower and toweled the child dry. He picked him up, still wrapped in the towel, and exited the ‘fresher and, as if on cue, the quick washer dinged. Mando attempted to open it with one hand seeing that the other was occupied, but the child just tugged on the edge of his breastplate and pauldron, which made it difficult to stay upright. Mando looked down at the child and debated whether he should set him down, but then remembered the last time he did that, when he found the child scurrying around with no covering on the dirty floor. He’d needed a whole other bathing that night. So, carefully, Mando plucked the child’s robe from the quick washer and shut its door. 

Mando sat on the bed and carefully laid the child beside him so that he could dress him. Taking care not to fold the child’s ears too much, he worked his small arms through the sleeves and his big head through the neck hole. The child fussed and whined, clearly disliking being handled in a less-than-gentle manner, but quit his whimpering when Mando finished. The warmth of his robes must have soothed him and quieted his discomfort. He looked expectantly up at Mando, and reached for him with his small hand, mirroring their first meeting. 

Mando’s shoulders relaxed and he tilted his head, falling desperately in love with the youngling before him. Raising a kid, much less a baby who couldn’t take care of himself and was wholly dependent on a parent, was rough. There were some days where Mando felt entirely at odds and lost in what he should do; he’d never thought twice about bringing up a foundling or a youngling before he came across this baby. But it was moments like these, when it was just him and the child alone and in their own world with no pressing worries, that he loved being this child’s father. He gave the child his finger to grasp onto, which he promptly took and began to chew on harmlessly. It made Mando smile, something he found himself doing more often now that he had the child around. 

Gingerly, Mando picked the child up and began to rock him to sleep, humming old songs from his childhood and foundling years, to make him drowsy. Hearing the child’s breathing slow and turn steady always made him feel so calm, so assured. _At least I can do this right,_ Mando thought to himself as he checked on the child’s face to see if he had completely fallen asleep. He was snoring ever so slightly, and his ears twitched more at random than in response to anything. Figuring that now was the time to lay him down, he transferred him from his arms to the bed, where he laid him against the pillow and covered him with a blanket. He sat up to go back up to the cockpit, but turned and stroked the tip of the child’s ear, more on impulse than a deep-seated need to.

“Goodnight, kid.”


	9. Whatever it Takes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After the events of the finale, Mando thinks about his past- and his future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Been sitting on this idea for a little while. Finally sat down and wrote it. Enjoy!!!  
> \- Batman
> 
> PS: if you’re enjoying my chapters of this fic, I’ve also started writing another Star Wars series! It’s a series of Ben Solo POV fics at some moments in the sequel trilogy, so Feel free to check that out if you are so inclined. Parts 1 and 2 are up now, with more coming soon :) https://archiveofourown.org/series/1606558

_ By creed, it is yours. You are as its father. _

__ The Armorer’s words echoed in Din’s head as he started the  _ Crest’s _ engines. They’d stopped briefly to refuel at Mos Eisley before heading off again, though Din didn’t have a destination in mind. 

_ As it’s father. _ He’d protected the kid for this long, sure, but… a father? Was he ready for this? This tiny life was now his, to ruin or save. 

The tightness in his chest threatened to swallow him whole as he thought back to what he’d told Cara and Greef about his own childhood. It was the most he’d spoken about that day since he was a boy, and now that the floodgates were opened, he couldn’t seem to stop thinking about it. The ringing in his ears as the battle droids steamrolled everything in their path, leaving explosions in their wake. The tears in his parents' eyes as they placed him gingerly in the cellar. The cold, icy feeling that settled over him as he felt the cellar rattle with the force of cannon fire. 

He didn’t have much memory of his parents-- his real parents. Everything before the day the Mandalorians saved him was hazy, hidden behind a wall he’d put up long ago to block out the pain. He remembered bits and pieces, but not much more. His mother reading him a story at night, his father taking him out on his first speeder ride when he was no more than four… but nothing more. 

The Mandalorians certainly took care of him. They provided for him, giving him food and shelter, and teaching him to fight. But they were… distant, in a way. There was no loving, tender moments as a Mandalorian. His caregivers felt more like drill sergeants than fathers and mothers. His days were spent preparing to become a warrior, not listening to bedtime stories read from a mother with a warm, soothing voice and beautiful eyes. 

Still, he was grateful to the clan. They could have left him on that battlefield to die, but they saved him. They thought he was worth rescuing, and he owed them a debt that he still wasn’t sure how to repay. 

Hearing his own name again was… jarring, to say the least.  _ Din Djarin.  _ He’d left it behind for a reason, when he swore the creed. It was easier to be nobody, to be a nameless face behind a Beskar helmet instead of a scared little boy with no family. 

He never dreamed that he would have a child of his own. The baby slept soundly beside him, underneath a blanket that he’d found below deck. He’d never given much thought to children, or family. Bounty hunting was simple, and it made it easier to bury his feelings behind the barrel of a blaster instead of facing them. But lately? Ever since this baby came barreling into his life, nothing was simple. 

_ You are a clan of two.  _ Could he really give this child the care it deserved? He didn’t know the first thing about parenting, and he had no one he could ask to teach him. He cared for the baby, sure. He had killed for it. He’d risked his life, and nearly given it, to keep the child safe, and away from the Empire’s clutches. But could he really be a father? Was he really ready for this responsibility? 

_ Jedi.  _ The child deserved to be with it’s own kind. It deserved to grow up with people who knew how to care for it. He didn’t understand it’s strange power, and he would never be able to understand enough to teach the baby how to control it. He felt the guilt swell like a punch to the gut as he thought about all the times he had put the baby in danger in the short time they’d been together. All the times the child nearly died because he was reckless, or he wasn’t fast enough, or… 

He couldn’t do it. He wasn’t good enough to take care of this kid. He could find someone else, someone like Kuiil, trustworthy and dependable. 

But then he thought about the way the child smiled at him. He remembered the way, once Cara put him down, he instantly walked to him, reaching out to him. The child cared for him, somehow, even though all he ever seemed to do was put him in harm’s way. 

_ I can’t run from this. Not this time. _

Din stared at the baby’s sleeping face, smiling as he reached out to stroke his head. He was still wearing Din’s medallion around his neck, and Din felt a burst of affection at the sight. 

“We’ll find your home, kid. I promise. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

He was terrified of being a father, that was for sure, but he  _ would _ do right by this kid. Even if it killed him.


	10. I Swear That I'll Be Around For You

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW this is late, but Happy 4th, everyone! Enjoy this significantly less angsty chapter by me, and don't forget to subscribe to both of us! Chapter title, as always, is from "Dear Theodosia" by Lin Miranda. 
> 
> ~Hunter

Din Djarin and the child had been on the run for about six months before they ran into Cara again, completely by accident, when making a supply run. For stars’ sake, it was in Theed. A place big enough to get what you needed, but small enough to not be recognized. So perhaps it did make sense that they’d run into each other here, of all the places in the galaxy. 

It was in a little marketplace where they ran into each other. Din was in the market for some clothes for the child-- that little robe was on its last legs-- and to fuel up the Crest. Plus, it was nice to see some of the beautiful Naboo scenery and ask around (well, as discreetly as possible) about the child’s home planet. Naboo was once one of the main centers of culture and knowledge in the galaxy, someone had to have a direction to point him in.

Cara, though, was on a bounty. Some noblewoman jumped her bail and was hiding out here among the pretty scenery and the crystalline lakefront. Cara, too, was looking for supplies in the wardrobe department, and that’s how the two friends found each other in the garment district.

“Cara Dune?” Din asked, his tone only a little surprised at the notion of seeing her here. Cara turned around from the stall she was observing with a questioning look on her face, but the shock melted when she saw that it was Din calling her name. His armor would be recognizable anywhere.

“Well, well, well, if it isn’t the Mandalorian,” Cara said with a smirk. “Nice to see you here, and with the kid.” The child cooed happily and twitched his ears at the attention he was receiving from Cara. She scratched behind his ears and let a smile spread across her face. It made Din smile to see them all reunited again. He bounced the child in his arms, making him gurgle in delight and his little arms flail. The child let go of the pendant around his neck and made grabby hands at Cara, who allowed him to grab hold of her pointer finger. 

“Just trying to get him some new clothes,” Din explained with a shrug. “He can’t wear the robe forever, and I can’t tell you the last time I sewed something. You're here on a job, I assume?”

Cara flashed the puck she was holding in her other hand with a nod. “Yup. Some rich girl, daddy’s money, hanging out with the wrong crowd, you know the deal,” Cara said with a groan. “I’m picking her up at a party tonight, hopefully make a splash and get away before midnight.”

Distantly, Din wished he could join her. He was waiting for Cara to ask him if he wanted to join her, and then it really would be like old times. But something too public-- or, at the very least, with too many important people-- could be dangerous to the kid’s safety. He very nearly felt jealous of her freedom and ability to go off and do exciting jobs. Once upon a time, that was him. But he had more important things to concern himself with now. The child, _his_ child, _his_ baby, took precedence.

“You good, Mando? You're acting a little more spacey than usual,” Cara asked after his prolonged silence.

“Nothing. I just…” Din took a deep breath and looked directly at Cara, “I just miss the life sometimes. I haven't quite gotten used to domesticity yet.”

Cara paused and considered what Din said. She furrowed her brow, like she always did when deciding what to say, and bit her lower lip. The child looked up at Din with his big black eyes and he felt a tug on his heartstrings. The child never failed to make Din’s heart grow weak and send a pang of paternalism through his bones. He smiled to himself, hidden below his beskar helmet. It would be hard to pass up whatever offer Cara was about to make, but it would be even harder to let the child out of his sight for very long. 

“Do you… want to come with? I’m sure I can get you in, I know someone at the party and we can find someone unsuspecting to watch the kid if you’re up for it,” Cara suggested. “It’s gonna be a quick job. Two hours tops. We can even split the bounty 60/40.”

Din stole one last look at the child, who was still beaming up at him with his big, babyish eyes and toothy grin, and couldn’t help himself. Ever since the child joined his clan, he felt more protective over him. There had been too many scares in the last six months. He couldn’t risk ditching the kid, even if it was for a few hours and for some of the profits off the bounty. The last time he left the kid alone on the ship to do a job, just four months ago, he came back just in the nick of time to fight off a bounty droid who picked up the child’s fob. He stopped hunting after that.

“I think I’m going to pass,” Din said with a sigh. “I’m… I’m all he has. I have to stay safe for him. But I wish you the best of luck on your job tonight.”

Cara smiled at Din knowingly and chuckled to herself. She gave the child’s fist one last, little shake before tugging her finger away. She stroked the tip of his ear and looked into Din’s sight visor.

“I know better than to get between a dad and his kid,” Cara said jokingly, playfully shoving Din’s shoulder. “It’s good to see you around, though.”

“Same here, Cara. We had some good times earlier this year,” Din agreed, rocking the child in his arms gently. The trio must have been a strange sight-- a Mandalorian in full beskar, a shock trooper in full guerrilla gear, and a baby alien-- but they were a family in the most unconventional of ways. He wanted to reach out, give her a friendly hug, but held himself back.

“We really did, huh?” Cara said, with that ever-present sparkle in her eyes and smirk on her face. “I’ll see you around, Mando.”

“I’ll see you around, too.”

The pair waved goodbye to each other, and even the child waved, making Cara laugh aloud and Din chuckle to himself so low his vocoder barely picked it up, and they parted ways.


	11. A note: We have a new fic collection!

Hello everyone!!!! Hunter and I wanted to let you know that we've officially closed the book on this collection (we left it open ended whether or not we were going to add to it for a while now. BUT- NEVER FEAR: WE ARE WRITING A NEW ONE FOR SEASON 2!!!!

We decided to have two parts of the same series, and we wanted to let you know we just posted part 1, which you can read here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27291748

The adventures of Baby Yoda and Din continue!!! We already have so many new ideas and we can't wait to keep sharing them with you all. Thank you SO SO MUCH to everyone who's read this fic, we love you and we hope you continue to enjoy Din and the Baby's wholesome parenting adventures. 

Love you guys!!!

\- Batman


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